This invention relates in general to a protective shield for the breast area and more particularly to a protective breast shield having an outer impact resistant layer and inner padding layer.
In many sports and even in some industry, it is important to protect parts of the body. Helmets, shin guards, teeth guards and even guards for the male groin area are available for impact protection in a variety of sports. However, there are an increasing number of girls and women participating in sports and there is a lack of protective equipment designed for such females to wear.
In all sports, such as basketball, baseball, softball, and football there are a number of events that cause blows to the breast area of a player. Such blows can be from other players, equipment or the balls used during play of the sport. In soccer, blows from a hard soccer ball are often suffered to the breast and chest area. The ball may be kicked or even thrown by another player. Particularly, if kicked, the impact from the ball to a breast area can be substantial. In men""s soccer, men are at an advantage because an effective maneuver is to hit a high ball with the chest area. Without a protective shield such a maneuver would be painful and may cause damage to a female.
The breast area of female includes very sensitive breast tissue. It is not desirable nor is healthy to have such sensitive tissue hit or damaged. In fact, there has been some research that has shown that damage to the breast area may result in a future cancer site. Therefore, it has become even more imperative to protect the breast area of women of all ages, including young girls.
There are a variety of sports bras available. However, such bras merely add more support for the breast area but fail to protect the breast area from impact. Specifically for the breast area, females need protective equipment that will save the breast tissue from impact.
Thus, there is a need to provide a protective shield for the breast area that is impact resistant.